New Boats

Jason’s Take: Style and substance come together beneath a convertible carbon-fiber hardtop in another head-turner from Riva.
 

How do they do it? The name Riva strikes nothing short of Hollywood glamour into the hearts of everyone who hears it spoken, casting a spell that turns grizzled, 60-plus-year-old yachtsmen into teenage boys craning their necks and standing on tiptoe for a glance at Brigitte Bardot alighting on the dock at some 1960s Riviera hot spot, mahogany gleaming as each flashbulb’s strobing discharge preserves that instant of life.

Now the glamorous material seems to be carbon fiber, and the scale of yachts is much larger and more capable. And with the latest addition to the line—the Riva 76 Bahamas—this builder has not only kept up with the fashion of the day, it has teased it right along, as with the bow wave of a new yacht making an appearance at Cannes for the first time.

The 76 Bahamas continues the traditions of Riva— which means moving ahead—and takes the cue of a previous model, the 88 Florida, which introduced the convertible hardtop, called a C-Top, that rests out of the way over a foredeck seating area, then lifts (on carbon-fiber struts, no less) to shade the helm area when the high southern sun becomes too much to bear. She shares a hull and accommodations layout with the 76 Perseo. But on the 76 Bahamas, the main deck somehow manages to capture the essence of the sunpad made famous on the Aquarama and other Rivas, and transform it into a whole al fresco living area. The saloon deck area (which can be mostly covered by the C-Top and fixed radar arch) consists of the helm to starboard, a dormeuse companion lounge and galley to port, and a dining area abaft the helm, all situated behind a windshield sculpted of double-curved, laminated glass and stainless steel. Farther aft is a cockpit with enormous sunpads and lounges.